The preservation of the U.S.S. Arizona bell in this tower is dedicated
to
the memory of the men who lost their lives on the battleship Arizona in
the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
This bell is one of the two original bells salvaged from the
U.S.S. ARIZONA in 1941. In 1944, Wilber L. Bill Bowers, UA Class
of 1927, discovered this bell about to be melted down at the Puget
Sound Naval Yard in Bremerton, Washington. Bowers saved the bell
from destruction and was instrumental in acquiring the bell for
the University of Arizona shortly after World War II.
The bell arrived on campus in July 1946. On November 17, 1951 the
bell was rung for the first time in the clock tower of the
then-new Student Union Memorial Building. The bell was rung on
special occasions for the next 50 years until that clock tower and
Student Union were razed to make way for the present day facility
completed in 2002.
The bell was installed in this clock tower on August 16, 2002.
Bill Bowers, at the age of 99, was given the honor of ringing the
bell for the first time in its new belfry on September 11, 2002.
This bell is to be rung seven times on the third Wednesday of
every month at 12:07 p.m. to honor the achievements of the
University of Arizona and its community.
The other original bell is on display at the U.S.S. ARIZONA
Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
All contents copyright © 2007. Arizona Board of Regents.
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